Sydney is one of the most expensive cities in the world so if you want to holiday there you should expect to pay quite a bit for the privilege. However this doesn’t mean that you can’t fill a small chunk of your itinerary with a few free things to do! Whilst I was in Sydney (especially when I was by myself) I found quite a lot of free things to do that I not only really enjoyed, but would also recommend to anyone else going to the city.

Take in the Sydney harbour bridge views

Whilst most people pay a small fortune to climb the Sydney harbour bridge, you can actually enjoy some pretty amazing views from it for free. All you have to do is walk along with east side of the bridge along the pedestrian footpath which you can get to from a set of stairs along Cumberland Street. The walk is pretty easy from Sydney’s central business district and is clearly signposted. Once you’re up on the bridge you can take some amazing photos by resting your camera on the side rail and poking it through the gap between the rail and safety fencing. Of course you can also take some stunning images of the bridge too. If you don’t want to walk, on the west side of the bridge there is an additional cycle path however it’s not advised to stop on the path to take pictures and pedestrians aren’t allowed here.

Wander around the royal botanical gardens

If, like me, you enjoy being outside and surrounded by nature then you have to go to the royal botanical gardens when you’re in Sydney. The landscaped gardens are absolutely beautiful and as you can see from the above photo, pretty sassy! It’s not just a wonderful place to explore Australia’s indigenous fauna and flora, it’s also a great place to go to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city. There are plenty of places to sit and admire your surroundings, read a book or meditate.

Feel inspired at Sydney’s museum of contemporary art

Whilst the museum of contemporary art is free, it is customary to leave a small donation as you enter the museum. If you enter from Circular Quay and walk through the automatic doors and up the stairs there is a small donations box. I donated five dollars. But like I said, technically, it is free. The museum is full of so many beautiful pieces of art from paintings and sculptures to photography and movies. So if you love modern art in all forms, this should definitely be on your Sydney itinerary. If you want to see a little preview of the art inside the museum make sure you subscribe to my YouTube channel where a video of the museum will be up soon.

Soak up history and culture at the library of New South Wales

One of my absolute favourite places in Syndey was the library of New South Wales. I was so impressed with this building, not only because it held thousands of books and was stunning - it was also home to many different galleries that held various exhibitions about Australia’s history and culture. One of my favourite exhibits was about how Sydney’s main central station was actually built upon the city’s largest graveyard. It was very interesting to see what the city looked like before massive redevelopments took place. There was also an exhibit about the fascinating language of the Aborigines - Australia’s indigenous people. As well as this there were a dozen or so rooms full of more art from the 80’s as well as the 18th and 19th century.

Go on you own walking tour

You can always pay for a walking tour with a guide, but why pay when you can go on one yourself? Sydney is a very easy city to walk around and navigate. All you have to do is grab a map and plan out a route. When we were there Elliott and I found this amazing walking loop that took us through all of Sydney’s major sites. It only took us three hours at an extremely leisurely pace and we got to see the darlington harbour, barangaroo reserve, harbour bridge and the Sydney opera house.

If you went to Sydney which free activity would you do first? If you want to see more snaps from my recent trip to Sydney, then make sure you follow me on Instagram and subscribe to my YouTube channel where you can see even more content.